Chicken Enchilada Casserole

This Chicken Enchilada Casserole recipe is everything you love about chicken enchiladas…stacked into delicious layers instead of rolled up. And made with the best homemade enchilada sauce recipe.

Whenever anyone asks what food I miss most in the States, my instant answer is still the same as it was on week one after moving to Europe — Mexican food.

Oh my goodness. I’ve been away from my favorite Mexican restaurants back home (with their glorious tradition of complimentary chips and salsa that we will never ever take for granted again) for going on eight months now. And while I had wondered whether the Mexi cravings would begin to subside with time, they instead seem to be getting stronger and stronger. Which means that the friendly owner of the Latin American grocery (where I make special trips to stockpile tortilla chips) now knows me by name, our food processor has now become known as the “salsa machine”, all of our Spanish friends have officially been introduced to our favorite margs, and I find myself digging back into the blog’s archives weekly to make my favorite Mexican dinner recipes. And the latest fave?!

This easy chicken enchilada casserole recipe.

I first shared it on the blog about four years ago, as a stackable casserole riff on my favorite chicken enchilada recipe. And in the years since, it has continued to be a regular in my rotation, as well as a total fave with family and friends. It’s made with my favorite easy homemade enchilada sauce, which automatically bumps any enchilada recipe up a mega notch. It’s easy to customize with any of your favorite enchilada fillings. It makes a big batch, which is perfect for a party, or wrapping up to take to a friend in need, or just having extras for leftovers. It’s made with corn tortillas and is naturally gluten-free. And it is downright delicious comfort food, wherever in the world life may find you.

I’ve tweaked and updated the recipe a tad on my own over the years. So today, I thought I would bump this chicken enchilada bake back to the top of the blog and give it a quick refresh with some new photos and recipe tweaks. Because in case you’ve never tried it…it’s time. :)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole Recipe | 1-Minute Video

My Favorite Homemade Enchilada Sauce Recipe:

Alright, before we get to the full ingredient list, a quick word about the homemade enchilada sauce included in the recipe. In my opinion, it’s simply the best. It’s irresistibly delicious, and made in the New Mexican tradition (without tomatoes, which I love). It calls for a simply ingredient list that you likely already have in your pantry. And it’s absolutely worth the extra 5 minutes of prep time (plus 20 or so minutes simmering on the stove, which you can multitask) that it requires to make. Thousands of readers have made it and agree — it’s a total keeper!

That said, if you’re absolutely in a hurry, you can sub in some store-bought green or red enchilada sauce instead. But I’d urge you to go homemade if you can. The sauce is the main seasoning in this recipe, and makes all the difference.

Here’s my full post about how to make enchilada sauce. (*Also, be sure to note that this casserole requires a double batch of this sauce!)

Chicken Enchilada Casserole Ingredients:

As I mentioned above, the ingredient list for this recipe is super-flexible, so feel free to add in any of your favorite fillings for chicken enchiladas. I like to use:

Cooked chicken: Either from my recipe for baked chicken breasts, or I often just shred a rotisserie chicken.

Veggies: The recipe below uses a quick blend of onion, red bell pepper, diced green chiles and corn. But feel free to add any other favorite veggies to the sauté.

Beans: Two cans of your faves. I like to use one can of black beans, one can of pinto.

Instructions

Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté for 6-7 minutes, or until softened. Stir in the diced green chiles, beans, corn, chicken and 2 cups enchilada sauce, and stir to combine. Remove from heat and set aside.

Pour about 1/2 cup of the remaining enchilada sauce in the baking dish, and spread until the bottom of the dish is evenly coated. Top with a layer of about 8 tortilla halves, so that the entire dish is covered. Top evenly with 1/3 of the chicken mixture, followed by 1/3 of the cheese. Repeat with another layer of tortillas, chicken mixture, and cheese. Followed by a final layer of tortillas, chicken mixture, the remaining 1/2 cup of enchilada sauce, and cheese.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, then bake for 20 minutes.

Remove pan and remove aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for 10 more minutes, until the cheese is thoroughly melted.

Remove from the oven and serve warm, garnished with your desired toppings.

Notes

*To make this recipe gluten-free, double check the labels of all ingredients to ensure that they are certified gluten-free.

*This recipe was originally published in April 2014, and updated in July 2018.

567 comments on “Chicken Enchilada Casserole”

Oh man,you’ve done it again! Another delicious recipe that makes me want to skip the gym and face plant into cheesy goodness! I love enchiladas…and my husband is obsessed (sometimes I feel like I compete for his love of Mexican food!) So these are perfect! Pinned!

I am filling in my meal plan for the week…always need something Mexican and something make ahead, this is perfect! And I can totally understand what you are saying about corn tortillas not rolling great, I struggle with that too! Stacked enchiladas for the win :)

I can’t wait to try this recipe. Enchiladas are a traditional food in my family so I grew up eating them, what we do to prevent the corn tortillas from ripping (and add better flavor)is we deep fry them and then stack and layer them.

Maybe you should just go ahead and celebrate from May 1st- May 6th just to make sure you got enough birthday and Cinco de Mayo fun in! That’s what I would do! My husband loves enchiladas, I wonder what he would think of this? Hmmm :)

This is beautiful! If it tastes half as good as it looks, then it’s gotta be sensational!! I can’t wait to try your enchilada sauce! I just opened a can yesterday and thought, “there has got to be a better option!”

Just put this in the oven. Can’t wait to try it! And I made your red enchilada sauce…delish! I come across recipes that call for enchilada sauce and I never seem to have it. Thanks for the great recipes!

Hi Ali, this looks delish! I’m making it right now!!! Do you know how well it would freeze? I know rolled flour tortillas do not do so well, but corn and stacked?? Hmmm. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks!!

I made this for my family on the weekend and we all loved it! I did make a few changes, replacing the chicken for ground beef but it worked out well, just the same. Will definitely be making it again! Thanks :)

Hi Ali – I made your Chicken Enchilada Casserole with the homemade sauce last night and I know this will become a go-to dish! YUM!!! To make it even more weeknight-friendly, is it possible to do some of the steps the night before? For example, could I assemble the casserole, refrigerate overnight, and then do all of baking the next day? Or would it be better to bake it for the first 20 minutes, refrigerate overnight, and then when I’m ready to serve, reheat covered, top with the last layer of cheese, and then bake (uncovered) to melt the cheese? Will the tortillas get too soggy? I’d love to know what you think! Thanks so much :)

Hi! I wanted to let you know that I made this as a make ahead meal for dinner last night. I prepared the casserole the night before, threw it in the fridge and baked it the next day. The tortillas were not soggy. They didn’t crisp up like some other posters said (preparing the dish as intended), but the texture was still nice. I would prepare it this way again because the taste was still quite good and the convenience of having it made the night before is really key for me.